Social Media Sweethearts?

U.S. Valentines Day Spending Projected To Reach $13.7 BillionThink back to Valentine’s Day in elementary school. Remember the valentine’s themselves, the classroom parties and, of course, the Sweethearts. The sugary little morsels that are synonymous with the impending holiday.

When I first learned that New England Confectionary Company’s Sweethearts had made their way to Twitter, I’ll admit that I was shocked. My initial thought was that the target demographic for the beloved Valentine’s Day treat wasn’t on Twitter. Not to mention the fact that it just seemed obscure that heart shaped candies had their own Twitter feed.

Then I learned that the recipe had been changed. I’m willing to chalk that up to improvement. Add to that, the addition of hearts imprinted with ‘Text Me’ and ‘Tweet Me.’ It seemed that Sweethearts weren’t the magical little candies that I remembered from my youth.

As I thought about the new messages on this year’s Sweethearts, I was left wondering if a heart shaped candy was meant to evolve the way technology does. Does Web 2.0 have a place in a bag of candy hearts and, furthermore, do the children who consume many of these candies have any concept of what ‘Tweet Me’ means? If the answer is ‘no,’ then I would venture a guess that the consumption of ‘Tweet Me’ Sweethearts isn’t directly converting to an increased follower count for the confections.

The consumption-to-follower conversion rate aside, there is a definitive fan base for the candies in the social media sphere. They are making their mark on Twitter and have the follower count to prove it. But what if they had even more social media savvy sayings in the mix? Would they attract a whole new demographic of consumers?  Have an even higher follower count? Well, I guess examining some hypothetical Sweetheart sayings is the only way to tell. . .

UR status?
Digg me
UR
Del.ic.ious
StumpleUpon me
SM Love

Fan me
Follow me
Friend me
Be my friend(feed)
I Link U
LinkedIn Luv
Tweethearts
Blogmates
U & meme

Whether you dig through the bag to find a certain color (I’m guilty as charged) or just remember Sweethearts fondly from your youth, it’s evident than even candy can work its way into Web 2.0.  Perhaps next year Apple can jump on the bandwagon and have its own collection of Sweethearts.  iHearts anyone?

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